Day TWO out on the water at Cowes Week 2015

The first day of racing brought no wind and two knots of current pushing us backwards. In the end we were time out of the race,  receiving a DNF for not finishing in the allotted time. 

Today, the second day brought a steady 15 knts and more favourable tides. The boat got a great start off the line as they beat up to the upwind mark. It was a pretty eventful race with a lighter crew and the largest of the genoas up. Today was definitely a day to write home about!  

The following are photos taken today by crew member, Rushell, from the spectator boat. 

A full week of preparations

It's been fast - paced action non-stop since a majority of the team touched down in Gatwick on Sunday 2nd August. 

The boat was reawaken in Dartmouth on Monday and launched late Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday night the team enjoyed a tour of our captain's alma mater, the Britannia Royal Naval College. 

Captain Reggie is pictured in the far left of this photo

Wednesday evening brought a cold, wet shakedown race to get the team in order. By the end of the race that night the crew was happy and smiling despite the dreary weather. All this while, four team members were driving to Cowes to set up operation headquarters. 

The remainder of the team was up at the ungodly 0300 for a fourteen hour passage from Dartmouth to Cowes. The weather was a delightful English summer day with bright blue skies, sun, good winds and surfable waves. Legacy sailed in the company of Sealark, where Tim managed a crew of four capable youngsters who mostly ate and slept throughout the day, occasionally cranking the odd winch  or helming where necessary. 

The crew headquarters are now fully occupied, with just a few stragglers left to arrive from various corners of the world.

The big day is almost here!

Cowes week is fast approaching and no one can contain their excitement!

Here in Trinidad, all the final preparations and last-minute arrangements are being made. Menus for the crew are being made, travel plans within England being booked and any loose ends in our grand adventure are being tied up and perfected.

Across the pond in the Darthaven Marina, Legacy is on the hard awaiting her crew's arrival next week. She is certainly a spectacle, attracting the eyes of many passersby.

In addition to our sponsors at Caribbean airlines, the crew of Legacy would also like to welcome aboard Tourism Development Company as another sponsor, We are so  happy to have you with us!

I hope that everyone following along is looking forward to our journey as much as we are. Stay tuned for more frequent posts as we arrive in London this weekend!

Mid-Atlantic Musings from Leonard, a long time mariner

I could not have asked for a better skipper and crew to make my Atlantic crossing with. Even if I could and did, little good will it do out in the middle of the Atlantic with no one to answer my call. I signed on this trip with promises of DVD movies and popcorn every night, instead I got the most spectacular sunsets and sunrises along with the entire cast of celestial stars. Dolphins, whales  and the occasional turtle swam past us along with various seabirds which I'm yet to properly identify. I was hoping to see an albatross, those far reaching seabirds that are supposed to be the souls of long lost at sea sailors. I stood solitary watches at nights and drifted into conversation with Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, captain Cook and the like. Strangely never with Cristobal Columbus, someone I do not necessarily hold in high regard. I spoke with all my family and friends, including my parents, all who had past on from this life. Occasionally some of them spoke back to me.
The Skipper had prepared well for this epic voyage. Not only was he a Royal Navy Dartmouth graduate but he had spent his entire life sailing yachts with his dad and others. His wife was his first mate and just for the record his only mate on this trip. She punctuated the long days with delicious hot meals and on occasion freshly baked bread from her 'Force 10' stove mounted on gimbals. Nothing can beat the smell of coffee and bacon on mornings after a wet cold night on watch. Hot meals of meat and potatoes, chili and rice, baked turkey, roast pork loins, buffalo wings, Pedro's artisan sausages, stir fried rice etc punctuated our days.
Must admit that there were times especially with a 34F water temperature, 30' high waves, 30 knot winds, cold rain and seas that felt as if a bucket of cold water was being emptied over my head every 5 minutes for hours on end while on watch in an open cockpit...that I wondered what was I doing here? Certainly not for fame or fortune.
It really was a journey of self discovery. Why did Banwari man or his descendant the Caribs and Arawaks venture far out from land in open canoes. Don't really know the proper answer except to say because it was there to be done. Will I do it again? Maybe another ocean. Right now all I can think about is being back with my family including time with my grandkids. I missed my dog and my flower plants.
Not sure how long that will last before my  wanderlust returns.

Celebrations around the world!

After a month of non-stop sailing from Antigua to England via the Azores, S/V Legacy and her crew have safely arrived in Falmouth, England.

 To say that it has been the adventure of a lifetime is certainly an understatement. 

Once they crossed the Azores and started heading towards England, the wind began to play a game of cat and mouse with the boat. This continued until Friday, the 29th of May when they finally found the westerly wind. I guess you could say this wind was infamous because boy, was it brutal! A wind from the west which gusted to 30 knots had the vessel surfing 10 foot waves and clocking speeds of over 10 knots. 

By Sunday June 1st, the weather began to get wild; Legacy experienced 20 foot swells and managed speeds of 11 to 12 knots coming down the face of the waves. Captain Williams remained undaunted and determined to complete the entire journey under strictly sail power. Storm force conditions hounded Legacy until Tuesday June 2nd when shore support received the following message, 

"OK on board... wind 29 knots, surfing 8-10 knots, wave period 8-9 seconds. Seas big, sailing on reefed jib only".

Wednesday's weather improved, and Legacy and her crew continued their approach to Falmouth, entering the busy shipping channels. The countdown began as crew members obsessively tracked their final approach into Falmouth, messaging back and forth, happy that the end was finally in sight. On Friday 5th of June at 1924GMT, the team's UK contingent warmly greeted Legacy and her four man Atlantic crossing team with champagne upon their arrival in Falmouth, England. 

Legacy, always a sight to see, sailing into Falmouth Harbour

The British team awaiting Legacy's arrival 

They even did a little fishing at Lizard point, waiting to escort Legacy in

A happy crew, anxious to step foot on shore

Nicole, eating a well-deserved meal 

Len and Reggie celebrating with some good English food

Some of the Trini crew having drinks to the boat at TTSA

Len's family celebrating in Canada, thankful for a safe passage

 

And one for the history books!

News from the boat...Legacy arrives at Omega and completes Atlantic crossing with a new elapsed time.

At this time our beloved yacht Legacy and its entire crew has arrived at waypoint Omega & EOP with the agreement of Harold La Borde. This marks the completion of our first mission objective in a time of 16 days 23 hours. In the name of every member of our team, past, present and future, we shall now keep watch over the honour of this elapsed time for an Atlantic crossing in a locally built sailing vessel manned by nationals from Trinidad and Tobago. We deeply acknowledge the achievement of Harold and Kwailan La Borde and Kelvin 'Buck' Wong Chong aboard Humming Bird I after their incredible first crossing in 1960, originating from Trinidad and Tobago. It has been an honour to sail in their wake. May God bless and watch over all those who have wished us well, or have prayed for our safe arrival and may God watch over all those who go down to the sea in ships.

A very special thank you to our family, friends and Caribbean Airlines for supporting us during the planning and execution of this mission. Legacy now continues northward under sail non-stop to the United Kingdom.  "It's a great day to be a sailor!"

Musings from the middle of the ocean - 13/05/1015

An account straight from the first mate in the middle of the Atlantic....

"Clearly he did not know whistling was a no no on boats and Martin happily whistled his way through Monday morning. Leonard eventually told him about the superstition of whistling and gales (Leo also refused to come up 5 degrees as this would have placed us at a bearing of 013 degrees, citing a former Captain of his who got upset when this occurred. So it was either 4 or 6 degrees ;-).

We celebrated Leonard's birthday with a sip of sherry and gale force winds. 23 knots plus, all day and night, left Len to claim it was not due to his birthday but rather Martin's whistling. 

The northbound leg took a little longer than expected. We were beam reaching and close reaching in lovely conditions, albeit a bit slow. This all because the N Atlantic high moved north.  We had one squall line on day 3 but Legacy handled it beautifully.

We're now reaching east in mild seas <1 m and great conditions (it is fantastic sailing  with brilliant colours -an iridescent Atlantic blue. Moreover it is cool with sunshine so everyone's loving it. I'd recommend this Atlantic sailing to anyone."